"None of us can forget how we felt when those winds battered the shore, the floodwaters began to rise and Americans were stranded on rooftops and in stadiums," Obama said from Martha's Vineyard, where he is vacationing with the First Family.

Obama, who has already sent 11 Cabinet members to New Orleans to monitor progress, said he would visit New Orleans before the end of the year -- and that he wouldn't tolerate bureaucratic nit-picking get in the way of improvement.

"Government must be a partner, not an opponent, in getting things done," he said.

Katrina barreled into New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005 and left more than $40 billion in property damage to areas of Louisiana and Mississippi.